The University of Minnesota Raptor Center celebrated 40 years of operation Sept. 27 at the Carpenter-St. Croix Valley Nature Center in Hastings with several bird releases and other fun activities. The first bird released was a broad wing hawk that came to the Raptor Center in August after hitting a window. Two more birds, including a red shoulder hawk and bald eagle were also released under the awe-filled gaze of many observers. (Linda E. Andersen/Review)

The Review area had its fair share of ups and downs in 2014. Here are some of the top stories that made headlines this past year.

Home values slowly rebounding; commercial property values stay low
With the soon-approaching beginning of the new year, local city councils have been busy approving their 2015 budgets and tax levies before a Dec. 30 deadline.
Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada and Roseville have each adopted a budget for next year, ranging from just over $1 million in Lauderdale to $52 million in Roseville.
The recovery of the housing market means the average homeowner will see an increase in property taxes whether a city increased its levy or not, due to increased home values.

The cities in the Review's coverage area -- Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada and Roseville -- will soon vote to approve their final budgets for 2015. The public will have the opportunity to offer input on the budgets before they're approved by the various city councils.

The Falcon Heights-Lauderdale Lions Club and Roseville Area High School boys hockey team worked on unloading and setting up a truckload of fresh evergreens at Falcon Heights Community Park Nov. 22. For the 30th year in a row, the Lions Club will be selling Christmas trees on the corner of Fairview and Roselawn avenues starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 28.